We were lucky to catch up with William Farago recently and have shared our conversation below.

William, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. If you could go back in time do you wish you had started your business sooner or later

Oh for sure I wish I could have started sooner and opened my own salon but the reality is the constraints of time and money can hold you back. I opened my salon in April 2019, I had an amazing first year then BAM! Covid-19 happened. I wish I could have opened years before and saved more money before the pandemic but thankfully here in Florida we were only closed for 2 months. I was so worried about reopening as well but when I reopened you would have thought I was closed for over a year how high the demand was for hair color services. 2020 turned out to be one of the best financial years of my life. I now look back and realize everything that happened was meant to happen as it unfolded.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

My name is William Thomas Farago (he/him), and yes you read that correctly because my initials really are W.T.F. and I am the owner of the W.T.F. Hair Salon. Over the course of my 20years in the salon industry I have done everything from running the front desk, managing salons, overseeing social media accounts, and working side-by-side with global platform artists. I’ve really found my tribe here in South Florida in the LGBTQIA+ community, my salon is proudly an inclusive safe space with gender neutral pricing and a warm welcoming environment.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

I started my salon by buying out my client list from my former employer, signed a multi-year commercial lease and all with very little savings. I planned out my finances by taking my average weekly sales and told myself that if I couldn’t pay for my 3 chair salon’s rent by myself with that amount it wasn’t worth it. Hard lines in the sand have helped me spend with in my means and be able see the possibilities for my businesses future.

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

Google really is the best place for serious new clients and not just window shoppers. I have paid hundreds of dollars in advertising and marketing on the major review sites and various social media platforms but they never worked. Customer reviews and marketing on Google have generated the best return on investment for me.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.wtfhairsalon.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/wtfhairsalon
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/wtfhairsalon
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/wtfhairsalon

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